these things take time
by wolfsmouth
Summary: Post "New World". Riley still doesn't understand her "thing" with Lucas. Topanga offers some advice from her own experiences. or, Riley thinks her relationship with Lucas needs to be perfect, just like her parents. Except, they were never that perfect, at least not at the start. And maybe it's closer than she thought.


Riley threw herself on the couch next to her mother with a huff. Groaning, she let herself fall face forward into the cushions.

"What is it now?"

A muffled voice replied "I don't get it."

The teenager rolled over and put her head in her mother's lap before continuing. "It's just, Lucas!"

"He's the first boy I liked, my first kiss, first date. And I still _like_ him, even though we broke up, and I think he still maybe likes me? Shouldn't he still be my first boyfriend? Aren't we, y'know, going to get married and have kids and be happy forever?"

"Honey, you're _thirteen._ Why do you say that?"

Riley looked up at her mom, exasperated. " _Because_ … you and Dad did it. You guys are happy and nothing had to change or be confusing and you love each other so much. And I want that."

"Honey, I'm glad you admire your father and I, but I don't think you should take us as an example in this case."

"Why not?" Riley asked, frowning.

"Because your father and I are, well, we're freaks," Topanga replied.

The teenager rolled her eyes. "Yeah I know that, but you love-"

Topanga cut her daughter off. "No, I know. Your father and I do love each other and I can't picture life much different, but we're just not normal."

Riley snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it"

Silence fell between the two. Topanga played with her daughter's hair, while the teenager stared at the ceiling.

"Do you know when your father and I started dating?

"Hmm," Riley said, putting her hand on her chin. "Let me guess. You were five. No, you were eleven. Or seven or- oh, who knows. Maybe this time you just came out like that."

Topanga snorted. "I know, I know. It's a mess."

"But," she continued, "as much as we joke, your dad and I didn't start dating until we were in the eighth grade. Just like you."

Topanga could see Riley's face scrunch in confusion. "But I thought you had your first kiss in sixth grade?"

"Exactly," Topanga said with a soft smile.

"But, two years? Didn't you like each other?"

"Of course. But just because you like someone doesn't mean you end up dating them. And just because you go on a date with them it doesn't mean you have to be boyfriend and girlfriend or anything."

"You and Dad…"

"Actually, now that I think of it, your father technically wasn't even my first _date_ date."

"Who was? _Please_ don't say Farkle's dad, 'cause if Farkle finds out I'll never hear the end of it."

"No, it wasn't Stuart," Topanga said with a laugh.

"Ugh. I hate when you call him that." Riley shuddered dramatically. "If it wasn't him, then who was it?"

Topanga smirked. "Shawn."

Riley shot up and gawped at her mother. "What? Seriously?"

"Yep. Shawn Patrick Hunter was my first real date."

"I can't believe it. So Uncle Shawn could have been my _dad_ , and dad could have been my _Uncle Cory_ ," she said, shuddering again.

Topanga rolled her eyes, exasperated. "No."

"The point is, I went on a date with him. It didn't feel right at the time, and Shawn did it to get your father to get the nerve to actually ask me out. A lot of people our age started dating, and none of us could really tell if your father actually liked me, or it was peer pressure. But that date didn't really mean anything to either of us. So it didn't matter that Shawn and I went out, or that we kissed-"

"You kissed uncle Shawn?" Riley shouted.

" _Yes_ , though I don't think your father actually knows about that one, so let's maybe keep that between us," she said conspiratorially. "But you're still missing the bigger point."

Riley shook her head. "No, no, I think I get it Mom. Not everything works out perfectly right away, or at all, and sometimes you have to, have to wait things out?" Riley said, unsure. When her mother nodded, she continued. "And maybe things will work out between me and Lucas and maybe they won't. But we just have to wait and see. On our own terms."

Topanga smiled brightly. "Exactly. You're both teenagers. There's so much time for life to change. Just remember that even your father and I didn't get things right at first."

"Since we're on the topic," Riley said, "I do have another question though. Did you like any boys in between?"

"Between kissing your father and dating him?" Riley nodded her head. "Of course. I was twelve and thirteen. Boys my age finally stopped thinking girls were icky and cootie infested. I, of course, was already beyond that stage," Topanga said proudly.

Riley rolled her eyes at her mom's attempts at superiority before continuing. "Did you like Uncle Shawn?"

Topanga looked contemplative. "No, not really. At twelve, your uncle and I were very different people. Honestly, I barely tolerated him some of the time. I _did_ however like someone you know."

"Please don't say Mr Minkus, Please don't say Mr. Minkus," Riley chanted under her breath.

"It was. He was actually very sweet to me. Dorky, but he had such a nice aura…" Topanga trailed off momentarily before continuing.

"But Stuart and I drifted apart once we were in middle school. Different social groups I suppose." She finished with a shrug.

"Did you still like Dad?"

"Of course I did," Topanga said fondly. "We actually had a couple false starts of our own. The first time he asked me out was a year before we started dating. Well, I don't know if you could actually call it asking me out, but it was Cory's own special way, in a sense."

"What did he do?" Riley asked, face scrunching in confusion.

"He came up to me and basically said 'everyone's pairing off and I feel left out. Let's get together'." Topanga roller her eyes at the memory. "I think he tried calling me his girl too. He definitely called me his "girlyfriend".

Riley's faced scrunched again, this time in disgust. "Ugh. And I though Lucas and I were bad."

Topanga wrapped her arm around her daughter. "Nope. You two are perfectly normal. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If you get together in the end, I'll be happy for you. If you end up with someone else, I'll be happy for you. As long as you're happy too."

Just as Riley opened her mouth to say something, the front door opened, and Cory walked in.

He threw his bag next to the door and stretched dramatically. "Ugh. I thought sponsoring a club might be, y'know, _fun_ , but I swear none of these kids have any appreciation for…"

Cory trailed off, taking in his wife and daughter curled up on the couch, looking at him with amusement.

"Wait," he said, scratching his head, "did I miss a chance at a life lesson?"

The pair on the couch just looked at each other and laughed.


End file.
